sport news F1: Six things we learned from the Italian Grand Prix trends now
Another weekend of Formula One racing has come and gone, and once again it was Max Verstappen who emerged victorious at the Italian Grand Prix.
The Dutchman started the race down in seventh after taking a five-place grid penalty, but he quickly surged through the field to secure his fifth successive win.
Charles Leclerc tried to chase him down, but a late safety car scuppered his chances and he had to settle for second, while George Russell ensured Mercedes got the final place on the podium.
Max Verstappen (centre) finished on top of the podium once again, with Charles Leclerc (left) second and George Russell (right) third
It is now only a matter of time before Verstappen wraps up his second successive world title, but the weekend's action at Monza provided plenty of talking points.
Sportsmail has picked out six things we learned from the Italian Grand Prix...
Verstappen is in a league of his ownVerstappen started down in 14th place in Spa last month and still managed to win, so it was not a complete shock that he won from seventh this time around.
But it was still pretty spectacular as to how easily he cruised past his rivals and into first place.
It appeared there was always a chance that he could be held up by the traffic in front at the start, while the Ferrari had looked good in qualifying, indicating that Leclerc could pick up his fourth race win of the season.
Verstappen won again in Monza and is closing in on his second successive world title
Indeed, Verstappen admitted before the race that he was aiming for a top-two finish, such was his uncertainty about whether a win was actually possible.
Yet he moved up to third within two laps, and quickly set his sights on Leclerc. From then on, it was only a matter of time before he caught and passed him to pick up his 11th win of the campaign.
After last year's thrilling battle with Lewis Hamilton, this season has been a procession for Verstappen, and his 116-point advantage at the top of the standings shows just how far ahead he is the rest of the field.
Ferrari strategy backfires once againFerrari have made a habit of making some truly bizarre strategic calls this season which have cost them valuable points.
It would be harsh to be too critical of them for what happened this weekend, but ultimately the one gamble that they did take didn't pay off.
When Sebastian Vettel retired his car on lap 12, Ferrari opted to bring Leclerc into the pits while the race was under virtual safety car conditions.
Ferrari tried pitting Charles Leclerc early, but their strategy failed to pay off
This meant that they did not lose too much ground to Verstappen, but it also ruled out the possibility of them using a one-stop strategy.
Sure enough, Leclerc had to pit again later in the race, and by the time he returned to the track he was 20 seconds behind the championship leader.
Ferrari were in constant communication with Leclerc during the race, and he seemed happy enough with the calls they were making as they mentioned 'Plan B' and 'Plan C', but whatever they used in the end didn't work, and it was a familiar outcome for Leclerc as he finished second best to Verstappen.
Hamilton bounces backHamilton had been left cursing his luck after the previous two races before Monza.
At Spa, he collided with Fernando Alonso on the opening lap and crashed out of the race. The following week, it looked like he could pick up his first win of 2022 at the Dutch Grand Prix, but Mercedes' decision to leave him out on track on old tyres while his rivals pitted backfired as he slipped from first to fourth in the closing laps.
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